{"id":108367,"date":"2025-07-31T19:53:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/108367\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T19:53:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:53:08","slug":"us-toy-makers-are-getting-slammed-by-china-tariffs-and-have-dire-warnings-if-the-mess-isnt-fixed-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/108367\/","title":{"rendered":"US toy makers are getting slammed by China tariffs — and have dire warnings if the mess isn’t fixed soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

US toy makers are getting slammed this summer by President Trump\u2019s China tariffs \u2014 and some are sounding dire warnings about price hikes<\/a>, sluggish sales and worse if the chaos isn\u2019t resolved soon, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n

Toy prices nationwide rose nearly 2% in June \u2014 their sharpest monthly gain since the height of the post-pandemic inflation surge in April 2021 \u2014 as tariffs that briefly surged as high as 145% got passed on to shoppers, according to the US Consumer Price Index.<\/p>\n

Those price increases aren\u2019t translating into higher sales, industry executives say. <\/p>\n

Toy prices nationwide rose nearly 2% in June \u2014 their sharpest monthly gain since the height of the post-pandemic inflation surge in April 2021. ALLISON DINNER\/EPA-EFE\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the tariffs, we are selling about 10% fewer value-oriented items,\u201d said Jonathan Cathey, chief executive of The Loyal Subjects, a Los Angeles-based toy maker whose assortment ranges from high-dollar collectibles to budget-priced fashion dolls.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because when the price of a doll, a plush toy or an action figure rises above a certain threshold, value-focused shoppers stop buying altogether, Cathey said.<\/p>\n

Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA Entertainment, said the company\u2019s LOL Surprise dolls, which had long typically retailed for $9.99, have lately risen as high as $11.99.<\/p>\n

\u201cToy prices have already gone up<\/a> big time,\u201d Larian said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s affecting the sales because the consumer is very stretched right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larian and other toy makers say they are not expecting business will grow this year. This they say, is partly because retailers are not placing big orders as they wait to see themselves how the tariff drama will play out.<\/p>\n

Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA Entertainment, may not have much to smile about during the holiday shopping season. Getty Images<\/p>\n

That\u2019s after toy sales dropped nearly 1% in 2024 to $42 billion following a calamitous 7% decline in 2023, according to Circana, a retail industry research firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness will be down this year,\u201d Larian warned. \u201cA lot of retailers are putting orders on hold to see where the tariffs end up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top US operatives held a two-day meeting in Stockholm with Chinese trade officials that ended Wednesday.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that we have the makings of a deal,\u201d Bessent said Thursday during an interview on CNBC\u2019s \u201cSquawk Box.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sales of toys in 2024 were down by 1%. ERIK S LESSER\/EPA-EFE\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still a few technical details to be worked out on the Chinese side between us. I\u2019m confident that it will be done, but it\u2019s not 100% done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump imposed 145% tariff on China imports in April before lowering it to 30% the following month. The White House gave Beijing an Aug. 12 deadline to reach a deal but that could get extended into the fall, Bessent said.<\/p>\n

While toy makers wait, those that can afford to invest in new manufacturing facilities in other countries<\/a> are trying to hedge their bets. But the recently announced tariffs for Vietnam and Indonesia, in particular \u2014 20% and 19%, respectively \u2014 were higher than many had expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe feeling was tariffs would stay the same rate at 10% or go down \u2013 not up,\u201d said Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun, which makes Care Bears, Tonka Trucks and Lincoln Logs.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jay Foreman, who heads up Basic Fun, says the 20% tariff rate for Vietnam was surprisingly high. AP<\/p>\n

MGA Entertainment\u2019s Larian spent two weeks in Indonesia last month touring factories and drawing plans to move a substantial amount of production there from China. Shortly thereafter, President Trump announced the 19% tariff on Indonesia \u2014 and Larian put the project on hold.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone says that Indonesia will be the next frontier\u201d \u2014 but the country\u2019s future as a consistently viable option for US manufacturers is at least a few years away, Larian said.<\/p>\n

About 10% of what MGA Entertainment makes, including LOL Surprise and Bratz dolls, are made in Vietnam. But the factories there are behind schedule and that means toy companies are paying retailers late fees.<\/p>\n

Still, pulling up stakes from China, which makes 80% of the world\u2019s toys, is impossible for some.<\/p>\n

Alan Dorfman, founder of Super Impulse, says his company is \u201centrenched\u201d in China. The List TV<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply entrenched in China,\u201d said Alan Dorfman, CEO of\u00a0Super Impulse, a Bristol, Pa.-based maker of miniature toys that mostly cost under $10. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge undertaking for a smaller company like us to set up elsewhere. It\u2019s not a reasonable option for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toy companies sped up their shipping cycle in May and June. JOHN G MABANGLO\/EPA-EFE\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The good news is that the industry rushed to get products to the US from China in May and June while the two countries negotiated a trade deal \u2013 and most expect to have enough toys for the holidays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s what happens afterwards to tariffs, prices and inflation that\u2019s keeping the industry on edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are at risk of having to pay penalties to our retail customers,\u201d Dorfman told The Post. \u201cIn extreme cases retailers can also reject our goods if they arrive at their warehouses late.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toy makers are still holding out hope that their lobbying efforts for a tariff exemption on toys \u2013 which they enjoyed during Trump\u2019s first term in office \u2013 will pay off in the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe outlook for this year is survival,\u201d Dorfman said. \u201cWe lowered our expectations from where we started the year. We hope to get through next year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US toy makers are getting slammed this summer by President Trump\u2019s China tariffs \u2014 and some are sounding…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":108368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[64,74,79,9996,266,748,4690,2175,25249,67,132,68,15336],"class_list":{"0":"post-108367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-china","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-indonesia","12":"tag-inflation","13":"tag-manufacturing","14":"tag-shipping","15":"tag-tariffs","16":"tag-toys","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-vietnam"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114949600377078490","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}